The Directors...

I've shown my favorite films and what great films they are. What makes a great film you might ask? Acting can make a good film, yes as well as a good story... but without a great director your film will never reach it's full potential. As a film buff and fellow story teller I have great admiration for the job that today's directors do. There have been many great directors from Orsen Wells to Stanley Kubrick to Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurasawa. It's hard for me, with my limited film knowledge that really only spans the last thirty years, to compares today's directors to the greats of old. So once again this is my list of Favorites. This list is MY top 10. I'll even go deeper and tell you why I like each director to give you more insight to what I look for in a great director. Enjoy...or not.

1. Martin Scorsese. ( Raging bull, Goodfellas, Kundun, Gangs of New York.) This man is movie gold in my opinion. The greatest film maker I've ever seen. This man should have a dozen Academy Awards by now. There is no other film maker that can tell a character driven movie like Marty. It almost make me want to vomit when his movies never make the money they should at the box office. Anyone that doesn't go out and support these kind of film makers should have their house fire bombed. God please let Marty do one of his movies and it make some money!

2. Quentin Tarantino ( Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) Quentin is without a doubt our generations Francis ford Coppola or Martin Scorsese. A true icon of my generations film makers and had one of the most influential movie on the industry of the last 20 years, Pulp Fiction.

3. Steven Spielberg ( Saving Private Ryan, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Minority Report.) My generations Steven Spielberg, LOL. His films really push the creative boundaries. Every time you think he's going in one direction he does something like Ryan, or Munich that makes everyone turn there head and know he can truly do it all! The Michael Jordan of Film Directing.

4. David Fincher ( Fight Club, Seven) David is one director that if you could give him a blank check and a good concept the man can deliver the most provocative video masterpiece...Everything. Very few directors working today can match his visual style and unique story telling ability.

5. Michael Mann ( Insider, Heat, Collateral) Big time director that can handle big time stars and get the best out of them, everything. Few directors carry the respect of the finest in the biz like this mann ( pun intended) He has directed the biggest stars on the planet and can tell compelling character driven storylines and dynamic action sequences seamlessly. This man is a master at letting the characters come to life and draw us into the film.

6. Brain DePalma ( Scarface, Carlitos Way, Untouchables, and the up coming The Black Dahlia ) visual style that has been teaching young film makers for years how to open a scene with tention and style that has DePalma written all over it. Overhead shots that slowly pan the scene to stunning close ups from unique angles always tell the viewer your watching dePalma.

7. Chistopher Nolan ( batman Begins, Insomnia, memento, the Following) few directors can boast a 1.000 batting average in the bigs...This one can. Everything he touches is a master piece. With only a few films under his belt Mr. Nolan is quickly showing people that not only is he a master storyteller but he can do a big budget Hollywood movie like Batman and do it better than it's ever been done before.

8. Sergio Leone ( Once upon a time in America, Good the Bad and the Ugly, Fistfull of Dollars) The king of the intense close-up and the man who made Clint Eastwood and the spaghetti western a star is still looked at and revered by pears young and old as a true craftsman of the art of film making.

9. Guy Ritchie ( Lock Stock and two smoking barrels, Snatch) A lot of people like to hate on him now a days, but don't make the mistake of writing this limy off just yet. His first two major film releases were as exciting to watch visual as anything I've seen in recent memory. His directing style is purely defended as his unique eye for off beat outrageous characters. His pacing is strong and keeps you glued to the edge of your seat. I defy anyone reading this to watch those two films and not see the budding greatness that is Guy!

10. Terry Gilliam ( Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Time Bandits) Quirky, odd, witty and visual brutal. All this coming from a Montey Python! Terry is a truly gifted film maker that has imagination with scenes and characters like no other. Dark, quirky films that have so much depth and layers that he guarantees he will never be truly embraced by American audiences the way he should. If you like Tim Burton and his films, you'll love Terry Gilliam. He's had a few mis steps as of late, but I see and big cult hit just around the corner.

Coming soon, my top screen writers! (oh boy) One of these days I'll write something about my comics I'm working on. : )

The pick at the top is from the movie "Snatch"...put that in a google search ( as i did to find that pic) and see all the goodness that pops up. How stupid am I........don't answer that!